Floor grating



1 oct. 28, 1930. F. B. SECOR 1,779,497

FLOOR GRATING Filed April 26, 1929 @time/1f).

Patented Oct. 278, 1930 UNiTED'sTATEs PATENTOFFICE ERANK'RVSECOR, or ixEwnRK,l NEW JERSEY, nss'rerNoR` rro :KERLOW STEEL FLOOR COMPANY, OEJERsEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OE NEW JERSEY ELOOR GRATING Application nieu April 26,

`This invention relates to steel floor gratings ofthe type which is made up in units of longitudinally disposed bars or girders sep'- arated and secured together by spacing members. 'i' l v Among thefobjects of this invention is to producea licor gratingoil a design which will possess the-requisite amountoi strength and yet'be sovcharacterized by its simplicity of construction 'as to render it capable of being manufactured at low cost.

Another object' of .the invention is to provide `a design of'floor grating requiring but one working operation tounite one girder or bar with two spacing members.

Another object of the invention is to provide a grating which may be valmost entirely assembled by hand operation and without the use of tools. j Y

Another object of the invention is to provide a Agrating having the appearance of a multiplicity of crossed rods, of which theV rods in one direction are assembled fromk a number of' spacing members which are con-' nected in series and form lateral rows of connected spacing members. V

The .principle embodied inmy invention includes the use' of girderswof any usual type', such as straight bars, and spacing members designed so that aspacing member engages twogirdersw and also engages Athe spacing members on" the lOthersides ofthe two en-v gaged girders. Theform' of 'gratingV herein illustrated includes straight bars and spacing members, each spacing member consisting-of a short bar havingatread length equal tothe desired'la'teral spacing of the longitudinal' girders andhaving a projection and a hole for enabling engagement of successive spacing members. While force fits may be used,a screw connectionhas advantages and I thereforerthread the projection and tap the holeof each spacing member. "Successive spacing members are screwed' together "after the projection of a connecting spacing member has been passed through a hole in a girder. The gratingis built up Vby putting together alternately longitudinal rows ofspa ing members and girders. j

The details of'this'invention are illustrated 1929. vSerial No. 358,244.

in the accompanying sheet of drawings in form of a vof girders or bars 10 and spacing members 11are assembled together in a unit of specified dimensions which depend upon convenience, intended use and strength of the elements used in the construction.

In the present form of the invention straight bars constitute the girders and since ysupporting structure, not shown. The girders run-lengthwise of the gratingand are generallyY spaced llaterally from each other and parallel to each other. j

The spacing members 11 serve primarily to maintain the girders ofa unit in definite relation to each other'and their uppermost sur'- aces or projections lie in the same plane as the upper edges of the girders 10 so as to define the walking surface of the floor grating and'at the same time prevent slipping in a direction lengthwise of the grating. In addition, the present type of spacing members contributes materially to the transverse strength of the floor grating. l

Each spacing memberll is of a very sim* ple form and'can be madejfrom an ordinary stock rod cut up into suitable lengths. For example, the different styles Vof spacing members illustrated inFigs. 1, 4 and `'5 may be made by cutting a bar, a smooth or a deformed bar as the case may be, into over-all lengths including the length of the tread portion and projection 12. j One end ofthe member so obtained is then turned down until the projection 12 assumes the desired diameter for threading and the uncut portion is of such length as is desired for the spacing of the girders 10 oi the grating.' The procof ject-ion 12 is then threaded and a hole 13 is drilled and tapped at the other end of the spacing member.

The design of the surface of the spacing member is largely a matter of choice and consideration might be given to the particular manner in which the grating is to be used, that is, as a ventilated flooring or as a foundation for a concrete and steel flooring.

An alternate form of spacing member is illustrated in Fig. 6. This spacing member may be constructed by drilling` a hole 141 throughout the length of spacing member. The hole is then tapped and a stud 15 is screwed into the hole. rlhe length of the stud should preferably not exceed the length' of the tread portion of the spacing member. A portion of the stud remains extending so as to enable connection with another spacing member in the manner which will now be described.

In assembling a grating involving the principle of my invention a workman would start by selecting a number of girders of the required weight and length and which had previously been punched with holes 16 large enough to accommodate the threaded projection of a spacing member 11. These holes. Fig. 3, would have been so placed as to position the upper surface of the tread portion of the spacing member in the same plane, or approximately so, with the upper or fioor surface of the grating. Each of the spacing members 11 for the grating to be constructed is individually attached to a girder by suitable means 17 which may be in the form of a screw or a force fitting member such as a drive rivet. Each spacing member 11 of the first longitudinal row of spacing members is connected to the first girder 10, Fig. 1, in this manner. After each spacing member of the first longitudinal row of spacing members has been affixed to the first girder a second girder is placed in position with the series of threaded projections 12 extending through its series of holes 16. Thereafter a second longitudinal row of spacing members placed in position as each one of the longitudinal row is made to engage with the preceding spacing member in its lateral row.

The engagement of one spacing member with another is obtained by turning the newly added member as its tapped hole 13 is engaged by the threaded projection 12 of the spacing member already in place. It would probably be desirable to use a pipe wrench for screwing the members into a tight engagement, but in gratings in which a real tight connection could be dispensed with a workman would not have to use any greater effort than that obtainable by the use of his hands' and without the assistance of any tool. It will be appreciated that after a grating is made up, individual spacing members may not become loosened since the remaining spacing members in the same longitudinal row would maintain the relatively stiff girders at a fixed distance apart.

The width of a grating may be built upon by adding successively longitudinal rows of spacing members and girders until the desired width is obtained. Each spacing member in the last longitudinal row of spacing members should be preferably of the kind illustrated in Fig. 6 without a. stud so that a drive rivet or screw may be driven home in each of such spacing members after the last girder is in place, F ig. 1.

I claim:

1. A grating comprising spaced longitudinal girders and assembled bars disposed transverse to said longitudinal girders, each assembled transverse Vbar comprising a row of aligned spacing members bracing the spaced longitudinal girders laterally, there being a projection from one spacing member passing throughan opening of a contiguous longitudinal girder and into engagement with a hole in an associated spacing member on the other side of the contiguous longitudinal girder.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which the projections of the spacing members are threaded and the holes in the spacing members are tapped.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 in which each spacing member has a tapped hole throughout its length and a stud extending from one end of the tapped hole constitutes a threaded projection.

4. A fioor grating comprising spaced bars and parallel rows of spacing members, each spacing member having a hole at one end and a projection at its other end whereby a row of spacing members comprises aligned spacing members having the projections of successive spacing 'members passing through holes in the bars and into the holes at the ends of the next succeeding spacing members.

5. A grating comprising a series of parallel girders laterally spaced from each other and a plurality of spacing members extending laterally to the girders and between the girders, the spacing members being arranged in rows with each spacing member having a threaded portion extending through a hole in a bar and engaging a tapped hole in the spacing member on the other side of the bar.

6. A grating comprising parallel spaced girders and interposed spacing members comprising lengths of bars, each length having a tapped hole at one end and a threaded projection at its other end, the spacing members being so disposed that the threaded projection of one spacing member extends through a hole in a girder and into engagement with the tapped hole of another spacing member.

7. A grating comprising a plurality of longitudinal girders and members laterally spacing the girders from each other, there being a plurality of lateral rows ofv spacing members with the successive spacing members of each lateral row connected together, each of said spacing members engaging with a contiguous girder and having a threaded projection engaging a tapped hole in the next succeeding spacing member in the same lateral row. l

8. A grating comprising longitudinally extending girders and spacing members therebetween7 said spacing members being arranged in rows with successive spacing members of each row connected together by 'a threaded projection extending from one member and passing through an opening in a contiguous girder and engaging with a tapped hole in the next spacing member in the same row on the other side of the contiguous girder.

9. A grating comprising longitudinal girders and spacing members connecting together the girders, there being a plurality of individual spacing members between each pair of girders forming transverse rows of j spacing members of which successive spacing members in a transverse row are connected together, each spacing member having at least one shoulder abutting a girder and a surface contiguous with the surface of another girder whereby the girders are maintained in spaced relation, and each spacing member being provided with a threaded projection passing through a hole in one girder and engaging a tapped hole in a spacing member on the other side of the girder having the hole therein and a tapped hole for receiving and engaging the threaded projection of the spacing member on the other side of another girder.

In testimony whereof I hereto ax my 4@ signature.

' FRANK B. SEGOB. 

